Florida baseball has been on a tear since opening up the season with a 10-inning home loss, having won 11 straight since, including a weather-shortened two-game sweep of the Miami Hurricanes this past weekend in Coral Gables.
The ‘Canes join a list of casualties in the Gators’ wake that includes the UAB Blazers, Stetson Hatters and FIU Panthers. Miami was Florida’s first major test of the season and it passed with flying colors, but the things are still just getting started on the collegiate clay diamond.
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As a result of Kevin O’Sullivan’s continued success, the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll elevated the Orange and Blue two spots to No. 8 in the nation, where they sit between a pair of SEC peers: the No. 7 Auburn Tigers and No. 9 Arkansas Razorbacks.
Next up, the Gators are set to face the FAU Owls and Florida A&M Rattlers on Tuesday and Wednesday nights, respectively, for single-game midweek matchups, followed by a three-game weekend series against the High Point Panthers at Condron Family Ballpark.
SEC schools in USA TODAY Baseball Coaches Poll Week 3
The Southeastern Conference lost a pair of schools from the top 25 this week after the Ole Miss Rebels and Vanderbilt Commodores tumbled out, but also gained one in the now-No. 24 Kentucky Wildcats, giving the league 11 teams’ worth of representation in the Coaches Poll.
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The LSU Tigers, who lost their top spot to the UCLA Bruins in the poll, headline the SEC at no. 2, followed by the Texas Longhorns (No. 3), Mississippi State Bulldogs (No. 4), Auburn (No. 7), Florida (No. 8), Arkansas (No. 9) and Georgia Bulldogs (No. 10). The Oklahoma Sooners (No. 14), Tennessee Volunteers (No. 19), Texas A&M Aggies (No. 20) and Kentucky (No. 24) round out the top 25.
Ole Miss holds the de facto No. 26 ranking with 91 votes, while the Alabama Crimson Tide (42) and Vanderbilt (4) also earned mentions.
USA TODAY Baseball Coaches Poll top 25 for Week 3
|
Rank |
Team |
Record |
PTS |
1st |
Prev |
Chg |
Hi/Lo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
UCLA |
9-2 |
728 |
21 |
2 |
1 |
1/2 |
|
2 |
LSU |
11-1 |
716 |
4 |
1 |
1 |
1/2 |
|
3 |
Texas |
11-0 |
699 |
5 |
3 |
– |
3/3 |
|
4 |
Mississippi St |
11-1 |
641 |
0 |
5 |
1 |
4/6 |
|
5 |
Georgia Tech |
11-1 |
612 |
0 |
4 |
1 |
4/5 |
|
6 |
North Carolina |
11-1 |
552 |
0 |
8 |
2 |
6/8 |
|
7 |
Auburn |
9-2 |
526 |
0 |
7 |
– |
7/9 |
|
8 |
Florida |
11-1 |
509 |
0 |
10 |
2 |
8/16 |
|
9 |
Arkansas |
9-3 |
493 |
0 |
6 |
3 |
5/9 |
|
10 |
Georgia |
10-2 |
472 |
0 |
9 |
1 |
9/13 |
|
11 |
Southern Miss |
10-1 |
458 |
0 |
12 |
1 |
11/20 |
|
12 |
Clemson |
10-1 |
427 |
0 |
11 |
1 |
11/17 |
|
13 |
NC State |
10-1 |
362 |
0 |
15 |
2 |
13/19 |
|
14 |
Oklahoma |
10-2 |
295 |
0 |
14 |
– |
14/NR |
|
15 |
Florida State |
8-2 |
285 |
0 |
17 |
2 |
14/17 |
|
16 |
Wake Forest |
11-1 |
280 |
0 |
20 |
4 |
16/25 |
|
17 |
Coastal Carolina |
7-4 |
207 |
0 |
13 |
4 |
7/17 |
|
18 |
Oregon State |
6-4 |
193 |
0 |
18 |
– |
12/18 |
|
19 |
Tennessee |
8-3 |
167 |
0 |
19 |
– |
15/19 |
|
20 |
Texas A&M |
10-1 |
165 |
0 |
22 |
2 |
20/NR |
|
21 |
TCU |
6-5 |
128 |
0 |
25 |
4 |
10/25 |
|
21 |
Miami (FL) |
10-2 |
128 |
0 |
16 |
5 |
16/21 |
|
23 |
Oregon |
10-1 |
114 |
0 |
24 |
1 |
23/24 |
|
24 |
Kentucky |
9-2 |
105 |
0 |
NR |
4 |
24/NR |
|
25 |
USC |
11-0 |
92 |
0 |
NR |
6 |
25/NR |
Schools Dropped Out
No. 21 Ole Miss; No. 22 Vanderbilt
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Others Receiving Votes
Ole Miss 91; Virginia 71; West Virginia 66; UTSA 62; Alabama 42; Louisville 24; Oklahoma State 13; UC Irvine 8; UC Santa Barbara 5; Vanderbilt 4; Arizona State 3; Mercer 2; Wichita State 1; New Mexico 1; Michigan 1; Charleston Southern 1; California Baptist 1
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This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: Florida baseball’s USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll ranking after Miami
